Although there are plenty of “Made in Mexico” vehicles on the road in North America, none of them are really that special until the Vuhl came around. Vuhl is a Mexican start up and their first production car is the open-air 05. The Vuhl 05 will probably remind you of a vehicle such as the Ariel Atom or KTM X-Bow. It’s lightweight, fast, legal for the streets, and can kick some major ass on the track.
The dry weight of the Vuhl 05 is 1,532 pounds and the vehicle is built on a moocoque chassis with a three section bonded tub which is constructed from aluminum while the body is made out of RTM reinforced plastic. A carbon fiber body is available as an option and a windshield is non-existent (well, you get a few inches of it).
The Vuhl 05 is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo EcoBoost motor borrowed from the Ford Focus ST. The Vuhl techs tuned the motor and increased the power from 252 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft of torque to 285 horsepower and 310 lb.ft of torque which improves the power to weight ratio. With the sort of power and its lightweight, the Vuhl 05 is able to achieve the 0-100km/h (0-62mph) in a time of 3.7 seconds while the speedometer tops out at 152mph. That may not be a super car top speed, but it’s still damn fast and you should be able to get plenty of protein from all those bugs coming your way…no windshield, remember?
The Vuhl 05 also features a suspension setup which has double wishbones, four-piston calipers, 17-inch wheels in the front, and 18-inch wheels at the back. The exterior styling is definitely a lot more attractive than the interior. But then again, all vehicles in this class are similar. These are bare bone minimal vehicles with the intention of pure performance and thrills, not luxury.
The company will start making deliveries of the vehicle in the spring of 2014 in the UK and North America with a starting price of $84,000. For more details about the Vuhl 05, check out their website (coming soon).
Vuhl 05 Picture Gallery
